Alfrescian (Inf)

Care to share how you guys got to know about the above projects and their launches?
I'm just curious as to whether the marketing agencies advertised to public or they managed to sell with just private invitation/launch?

Alfrescian

+1! if encorp keeps the facade as is, JB will finally have a condo that is starting to give sg/kl designs a run for their $$$ and end the utilitarian boxy spiel we're so used to seeing in JB (very government housing). when projects like keppel reflections by DL, interlace by OMA and troika by foster - level reaches PH, that would really lift the veil of the state and take it into the next level.

Alfrescian

Care to share how you guys got to know about the above projects and their launches?
I'm just curious as to whether the marketing agencies advertised to public or they managed to sell with just private invitation/launch?

Imperia - east ledang sales lady - no advertising that I know of, other than a half page very vague ad in straits times. No online ads. They have Facebook page. This one pretty much went through word of mouth as they started taking reservations free of charge since long time back.

Somerset - news article last year

Encorp - Full page ad on Straits Times, perhaps the most publicised of the three

Alfrescian (Inf)

Imperia - east ledang sales lady - no advertising that I know of, other than a half page very vague ad in straits times. No online ads. They have Facebook page. This one pretty much went through word of mouth as they started taking reservations free of charge since long time back.

Somerset - news article last year

Encorp - Full page ad on Straits Times, perhaps the most publicised of the three

Thanks again for your info IR(made me feel so ignorant :P haha).
I see that Encorp Marina has many facilities and they have pool decks on at least 4 different levels. Good quality of life if one were to live there.

Alfrescian

Care to share how you guys got to know about the above projects and their launches?
I'm just curious as to whether the marketing agencies advertised to public or they managed to sell with just private invitation/launch?

My family friend who is more on has been on the lookout for SPH since he saw the new in Oct 2011 about Somerset signing a deal to manage SPH. He quickly findout that one of the joint developers is UMland which Capitaland has shareholdings.

Next came to his mind is marketing agent NSGlobal (former Uber group). He quickly contacted them and manage to be on their VVIP list. He managed to pick 3 good units at about RM750psf.

I believe it is fully sold out, last I heard was that 12 units were launched in KL after all the allocated ones for Singapore were sold out.

Not sure about the 12 units, however guys in the forum mentioned that it was sold as a block, perhaps to Ascott themselves?!

The GRR is ok for me, as it is a cashflow positive investment, at least for the 1st two years. Min guaranteed 5%. This is a profit/loss share investment so really it is a specuvesting buy and you would have to do your own sums, take a big leap of faith and hope for the best.

The biggest risk for me is the execution of Iskandar itself. Glad to see the article in the Singapore Business Times on Saturday from PM Najib gearing for Singapore SMEs to come over. If the execution is good, I think Iskandar has much room to grow. Let's get the Malaysian General Election over and done with first.....

See also various postings from the other thread of "New Developments to Share" - quite a bit of SPH was discussed there.

Alfrescian

Good question. There isn't any, and I may be wrong. As I understand it, this is a fully profit/loss sharing agreement between individual owners and Ascott (via the so-called Trustee company) hence the maintenance costs of SPH isn't directly comparable to a GRR scheme where profit/loss fully accrues to the serviced mangement company.

Given that this is a compulsory leaseback agreement and that Ascott themselves are tied into managing this for 10 years the maintenance is actually part of the operating costs of Ascott that is deducted prior to arriving at the profit / loss share which in turn is then attributed to the individual owner investors.

I suppose if, and this remains an if, the block reverts to its owners one day i.e. that an MCST Committee will be formed and that the average I would expect is circa RM0.35 - 0.40psf/month (on today's terms), probably same as the other serviced residences.

ISKANDAR Malaysia will court small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore struggling with high rental and other business costs to establish some or all of their operations there. To help achieve this aim, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak yesterday announced new initiatives to ease concerns about the security and accessibility of the economic region.

MR NAJIB
Announced investment of RM24.5 billion to improve conditions in the Iskandar development region

Mr Najib announced an investment of RM24.5 billion (S$10.2 billion) to improve conditions in the Iskandar development region as well as the rest of southern Johor through 32 projects in three key areas: security, public transport, and physical outlook and infrastructure. According to Ismail Ibrahim, chief executive of the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), these initiatives will be used to attract more Singaporeans, particularly SMEs, to Iskandar.

'We will very much look towards Singapore businesses to come here, and this interest is already happening as I have regular contact with the business community in Singapore and whenever I have any discussions, I will consult them,' Mr Ismail said.

He said Iskandar Malaysia would be looking towards attracting businesses that operate within the region's designated economic growth sectors and those that can create skilled jobs and add value to the wider Johor economy. The nine sectors that have been identified as instrumental in catalysing growth for the Iskandar region are: education; tourism; logistics; creative industries; petrochemicals; polychemicals; electronics and electrical engineering; food and agro processing; and healthcare.

Speaking to BT, Mr Ismail noted that with these 32 projects in the pipeline, Iskandar Malaysia could become an attractive destination for SMEs from Singapore, with the cost advantages thrown in. Many SMEs coming into Iskandar Malaysia have already done their sums, but he didn't rule out more sweeteners in the future. 'Any incentives rolled out in the future will be a bonus,' he said.

Mr Ismail explained that from consultations with Singapore businesses, their concerns about the Iskandar region centred around the location, connectivity, infrastructure and security of the place - concerns that he feels have been addressed by Mr Najib's announcement yesterday.

'To improve access to Iskandar Malaysia, we need to ensure that infrastructure is built. If we don't improve connectivity, in 2-3 years, we may face problems for the movement of people and goods from Singapore to Iskandar Malaysia,' he said.

Mr Ismail added that the Rapid Transit System (RTS) was an example of how both governments saw a need for greater connectivity. 'We are targeting the RTS for 2018, probably by developing a tunnel. The RTS could either happen by rail, road or a combination of the two.'

Mr Najib said that the quality and capacity of the public bus system would be improved and there would be better roads to drive on. There would be an integrated terminal and ticketing system for public transport. The taxi industry would be reformed.

This will be followed by other more innovative measures including establishing a domestic rapid rail and water taxi system by 2020, which will involve redeveloping key river routes in the region.

Mr Ismail acknowledged that security is a concern for Singaporeans and so measures have been rolled out to ease these worries. 'In order to ensure that this region can offer an attractive environment for business and investment, we need to look very closely at matters regarding safety and security,' he said.

Adding that a security blueprint with 40 measures had been developed, he pointed out that the crime rate in Iskandar Malaysia had fallen - last year's crime index showed that the crime figures for the region were lower than the national average.

Nevertheless, he pointed out that out of the 32 projects announced by Mr Najib, up to 10 were specific to addressing security concerns. These include an integrated CCTV system and 138 community police posts to be set up by 2020 across Iskandar Malaysia, closer coordination among enforcement agencies and crime prevention programmes.

'An estimated RM14.2 billion, or 58 per cent, of the total investment for these projects (RM24.5 billion) will be fulfilled using public funds, while the remaining RM10.3 billion or 42 per cent, will be contributed by the private sector,' Mr Najib said.

The prime minister was speaking on a visit to Johor Baru yesterday, where he launched the Iskandar Malaysia Economic Corridor Transformation Programme, a programme that includes 27 Entry Point Projects in the tourism, education, and oil and gas sectors.

Along with the security, infrastructure and transportation initiatives, the total of 59 projects unveiled by the prime minister yesterday are expected to attract as much as RM139.3 billion in cumulative domestic and foreign investments, while contributing RM25.57 billion to Malaysia's gross national income (GNI) and creating 68,000 jobs by 2020.

Alfrescian

Just to share with u guy that we still need to pay the 4mths maintenance fees during the vacant possession.
No matter what, non refundable of 3mths deposit shall be hold by developer
If Somerset take another month to complete, we will need to pay another month of maintenance.
Also if Somerset sale is negative, all buyer shall bear the cost to them. Somerset is sure win-win.
We are like employer and Somerset is our employee. Boss don make money but still need to pay salary to employee.

Alfrescian

Care to share how you guys got to know about the above projects and their launches?
I'm just curious as to whether the marketing agencies advertised to public or they managed to sell with just private invitation/launch?